Wrest Pin | The Mandalorian

Chapter Seventeen: The Mundane

Note: This chapter is very mature.

***

Weeks passed like nothing.

The oddest thing about the entire situation was how quickly time just seemed to tick on...How quickly they fell into a never ending routine. How she hadn't asked how long they would be staying, because she was almost afraid of the answer. The stability was nice and all...But there was a dark thought in her head that it was not going to stop, but that Mando was going to leave. That the intention of her staying there for the duration of the pregnancy had been decided without her knowledge – and yet no one told her. No one informed her of such a thing, and she wasn't sure how to deal with it appropriately. She wasn't sure who to ask. Certainly not Mando...Their words to one another had been relatively limited in the past several weeks. Four weeks to be exact – on the small planet.

It was spent tiptoeing around one another, yet still sharing the evening together. He often met with Karga...But usually came back before she went to bed. And she was worried about what they were meeting over even more now. She knew Karga was trying to assist him in replacing his ship, but something told her there was more to the story than just that. His demeanor had changed, he was colder, not necessarily towards her but when he talked about things. She tried to break their silences with questions of his day and his outlook was distant from reality almost...Similarly to when she had first met him. She wanted to beg him to talk to her...To tell her if he planned on leaving as soon as he got a ship...But she couldn't muster the courage. She still felt terribly guilty for everything.

Evangeline stood in the bright sunlight, her head wrapped with a scarf since they were in the hot season and her arms were crossed over her chest. Cara had suggested Grogu attend the school with the other children, and it was nearing the end of their school day. She always stood in the same place, where many of the other parents waited to walk their children home. She had started recognizing faces – such as the mother who always baked snacks for the kids and the father who was always running late in the morning. Evangeline squinted against the light...Head aching and her stomach a bit nauseous. It had been worsening rather than getting better as had been suggested to her it would. And she hated how her clothes were tighter on her waist.

The visibility of it was becoming more apparent and she knew if others looked closely, they could see it. It didn't feel as much like embarrassment, but more so something 'outing' their indiscretions. Which seemed silly, since she had only just gotten to know the people in the town over the past four weeks and all they knew of her was what they spoke amongst themselves. But she was aware of how small towns worked...Having grown up in her tiny village. Most people knew things.

The door to the school opened and several children rushed out with their books, smiling and laughing – playfully pushing each other. Evangeline waited, and sure enough eventually Grogu came waddling out and she smiled at him, beginning to approach him. Before she even got to him – his arms were up in anticipation to be lifted and she did so, holding him close as she said, "There you are. How was today, hm? Same as all the others?"

He only cooed, but she could feel contentment radiating off of him – so it must have been an okay day. She wondered if the school reminded him of being back at the temple that Ahsoka had described. She hoped it didn't scare him, as she turned away and began to walk down the street, holding him in her arms as she continued, "We're gonna see Cara today...Unfortunately, I'm terribly bored so that means you get to be dragged along with me."

She was terribly bored. There wasn't much to do besides wandering the town and going to bother Cara. Or suffering through vomiting up her breakfast and lunch every day. Everything felt out of place, she was most definitely out of place and she missed the Razor Crest and the nice humming of the ship through silent space. And she was almost frightened she would never be able to get that back. That she had ruined everything.